We have been on many trips with America By Rail. We especially appreciate having someone else plan the trip, make the reservations, and provide a tour guide as well. We could report on many trips, but there were many special things about our America By Rail trip last Spring (April 2010). This trip was called The Music Cities and it included Branson, Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans. We’ve been to Branson many times, so we took this trip primarily to go to the other three cities.
The trip began in Chicago, taking the Southwest chief to Kansas City; then by bus to Carthage, MO to visit the Precious Moments Chapel and Museum. This was a pleasant stop on the way to Branson. In Branson we always enjoy the shows, especially our favorite, Jim Stafford.
After Branson we took a bus to Nashville where we stayed at the Opryland Hotel. This was a real treat, a fabulous place to stay and to see the lush environs within the hotel. We had a good bus tour of Nashville with a local tour guide. We saw Music Row, visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, and took in a performance of the Grand Ole Opry (which included Little Jimmie Dickens). We had previously visited Nashville, but there is always something new to see and do.
After Nashville it was on to Memphis by bus. We stayed in a Westin Hotel near Beale Street. At night Beale Street was filled with people and music. We enjoyed a tour of the city with a local guide. Among other things, we drove past the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated… We learned that Memphis is a major medical research center, far more than just the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We appreciated seeing the Danny Thomas Memorial Garden… At the Peabody Hotel we saw the ducks which come down by elevator from an upper floor to spend the day in the little pool in the lobby. Finally, of course, no one can go to Memphis without visiting Graceland. In our short stay in Memphis we saw and learned a lot about this city that is music and more.
Next, we boarded the train (The City of New Orleans) for the trip to New Orleans. We stayed at the Hotel St. Marie in the French Quarter. We had a three hour city tour and a dinner cruise on the Natchez Steamboat on the Mississippi. One day we used our free time to walk through the French Quarter and on to Jackson Square. There we had the famous beignets at the Café du Monde. Another day we used our free time to take the Charles Street trolley to the World War II Museum. The trolley ride itself was interesting and fun. But it was the World War II Museum that was a surprise highlight of the trip.
The return trip took us directly to Chicago on the City of New Orleans.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable trip.
Ron and Donna Tipton